Secret garden
Whether big or small, gardens can be full of magic. They can provide a home for all sorts of awesome wildlife, and be full of the wonders of nature. What can you do to look after your garden for wildlife this autumn?
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Water vole by Terry Whittaker/2020VISION
Chwilio
Great reedmace
Great reedmace is familiar to many of us as the archetypal 'bulrush'. Look for its tall stems, sausage-like, brown flower heads and green, flat leaves at the water's edge in our…
Stinkhorn fungus
The stinkhorn has an unmistakeable and intense stench that has been likened to rotting meat. Its appearance is also very distinctive: a phallic, white, stem-like structure, with a brown, bell-…
The Smart Happy Project: How to make a snowflake!
Lisa's new monthly blog will help you develop a new superpower - to find the patterns in nature. Today, learn about symmetry and chaos in a snowflake.
Teasel
The brown, oval, spiky seed heads of the teasel are a familiar sight in all kinds of habitats, from grassland to waste ground. They are visited by goldfinches and other birds, so make good garden…
My jump leads
Ann and her husband nurture and cultivate specialist sphagnum mosses and vascular plants like bog cranberry for a community area of the moss: they’re kickstarting the vegetation growth on Little…
Dartford warbler
The small, brown Dartford warbler is most easily spotted when warbling its scratchy song from the top of a gorse stem. It lives on lowland heathland in the south of England, where it nests on the…
Sitka spruce
The Sitka spruce was introduced into the UK from North America in the 19th century. It has been widely planted as a forestry tree; look for classic needle-like leaves and pale brown, domed cones…
The Smart Happy Project: Phases of the moon
Lisa's monthly blog will help you develop a new super power - to find the patterns in nature. Have you noticed how the moon changes shape?
Water vole
The water vole is under serious threat from habitat loss and predation by the American mink. Found along our waterways, it is similar-looking to the brown rat, but with a blunt nose, small ears…
Compass jellyfish
It's easy to see where the compass jellyfish got its name – its brown markings look just like a compass! They may look beautiful – but they give a nasty sting so keep your distance.
Giant house spider
The giant house spider is one of our fastest invertebrates, running up to half a metre per second. This large, brown spider spins sheet-like cobwebs and pops up in the dark corners of houses,…